Sickle cushioner



F. 22, 193. G. E. CHILSTROM ET AL 5 S ICKLE CUSHIONER Filed Feb. 26, 1936 Patented Feb. 22, 1938 UNITED STATES SICKLE CUSHIONER Gus E. Chilstrom and Abel Thompson, Paullina,

Iowa.

Application February 26, 1936, Serial No. 65,832

2 Claims.

Our invention relates to a shock absorber or cushioning device particularly adapted for a sickle attached to a mower or reaper.

One of the principal objectives of our invention is to eliminate breakage due to vibration and shock by properly cushioning the sickle reciprocating elements.

A further object of our invention is to provide means for cushioning the shock away from the pitman end of. the sickle and towards the outer end thereof.

A further object of our invention is to provide the above mentioned objects in a construction of the greatest possible simplicity.

With these and other objects in view, our invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of our device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in our claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of our device attached to a sickle, and

Figure 2 is a side elevation looking at the rear thereof.

We have used the character H] to designate generally the stationary sickle member or bar, and the character I l designates the cutter plates which are suitably attached in the usual manner and which reciprocate relative to the member l0. Attached to the member ID is the usual pointed guards l2 which also are stationary. Further elucidation of these members is not necessary since they are well known in the art.

Our device is attached near the outer end of the sickle such as 13 since it is designed to absorb the shock at the end. To further provide such means, we provide the strap l4 having the inwardly turned extensions l5 which are bolted by means of. the cap screws at It to the reciprocating portion of the sickle. The strap M includes the small downwardly extending lip l6 which is suitably welded at I! thereto and at the center thereof. A continuous rod l8 passes through an opening l9 in the member I6. The rod I8 is bent inwardly at 20 and is bolted to any convenient bolt which is ordinarily used on the stationary frame adjacent the pointed members l2. The bar is bent under the stationary member ID and bolted as shown in Figure 2. Spaced from the member [6 are the collars 2| having the set screws 22 threadedly engaged therewith. Between the collars 2| and the center member l6 are the compression springs 23 which receive the rod [8. The stationary bar In includes a further member 24 which is suitably attached thereto and which includes an opening 25 through which the rod [8 passes with a fairly substantial length of the rod projecting therebeyond. 5

It will now be seen from the foregoing description that as the cutting member ll reciprocates to and fro that the member I6, which is attached to the strap [4, is carried together with this member. During such oscillatory motion, the 10 shocks which are imparted to the reciprocating member are absorbed by the springs 23 alternately on each side of the member Hi. In other words, a constant tension is exerted against the reciprocating parts by virtue of this construction 15 which insures absorption of all shocks, particularly on the outer end where the same is most important, since the strains are set up at this point.

The collars 2| can be placed inwardly or outwardly as desired and locked by means of the set screws 22 so that, when desired, tension can be eifected for the use intended. Such adjustment can be used whenever necessary, and also if it is necessary to compensate for a weakening spring 25 and the like.

It will now be seen that we have provided a sickle cushioner which is emcient in operation, which absorbs shock at the outer end of the sickle where it is most necessary, which can be 30 readily adjusted, and which can be manufactured at a minimum cost.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of the parts of our invention without departing from the real spirit and pur- 35 pose of our invention, and it is our intention to cover by our claims any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents, which may be reasonably included within their scope.

We claim as our invention: 40

1. A sickle cushioner comprising a bracket attached to the sickle blade member and rearwardly thereof, a downwardly turned lip attached to the bracket, compression means bearing against said lip including a pair of helical 45 springs on each side of the lip, said lip having an opening, a rod. passing through said opening and said springs and attached to the stationary portion of, the sickle, means for adjusting tension of the springs including a pair of slidable 50 collars receiving said rod including set screw locking means for locking the collars against the rod, said structure attached toward the outer end of the sickle.

2. A sickle cushioner comprising a substan- 55 tially U shaped bracket attached to the reciprocating sickle blade member and extending outwardly and rearwardly over the stationary bar, said bracket having a downturned lip having an opening, a rod attached to the stationary portion of the sickle and extending parallel and adjacent the stationary bar of the sickle and through said opening, a pair of helical springs receiving said rod and bearing against said lip, adjustable collars receiving said rod and bearing against the outer ends of the springs, means for holding the inner end of said bar, and said lip adapted to alternately compress the said springs to cushion shock of the sickle, during slidable movement of the lip opening over the rod.

GUS E. CHILSTROM. ABEL THOMPSON. 

